The next day, Palla found herself sitting at a table with Kruler and her father, staring at some apples with ginseng on a plate in front of her. It was breakfast time, and yet she didn't feel like eating. She mulled over the events that unfolded the day prior, the destruction of the university, the alphas, her classmates, the Eternarifts, and even having to tell the truth to the villagers. She felt off, and somehow the thought of food disgusted her.

"Hey Tusks," The Totodile next to her bumped her shoulder, "You gonna just stare at your food, or can I have it?"

The Axew silently looked between her food and Kruler before sliding the plate over to her, "Here, you can have it. I want to head outside for a bit."

"By yourself? Why not wait for me?"

The Feraligatr on the opposite side of the table scoffed, "Because you're gonna stay here. After what happened at that hell hole, you ain't going anywhere without me or my approval!"

"Oh come on," Kruler moaned, "I can handle myself, dad! I did just fine at the university!"

"Too bad! My house, my rules!" The Feraligatr snapped back.

Begrudgingly, Kruler turned back to Palla, "Guess you'll have to go without me this time. Once dad's made his mind up, he won't quit."

"O-Okay… I'll see you later then. And you too mister!" Palla waved goodbye, heading out the door and into the outdoors.

Getting outside, she found that the air here was fresher than that of the university. Though, it didn't do much to ease her nerves. 'I wonder, what's there to do around here?' Looking to her right, she found a small stand where fruits were displayed with a Keckleon at the counter speaking to a Khangaskhan. Looking to her left, she found that there were some village children running around, presumably playing with each other.

'Lively place… I wish my hometown was like this.' She thought as she made her way to the village square. Approaching the square at about the same time was Traximus and Kroto, who immediately waved Palla over. Sprinting over, she found that Kroto had a strange bandana on his arm.

"Hi Kroto! Hey Traximus! What's with the bandana on Kroto's arm?" She asked.

"Mom said that if we were going to become an exploration team, that we should have some way to identify each other." Traximus exposited, "She gave me one to give you too! Here, Kroto, wanna put it on her?"

"Only if she wants it," The Passimian added, and then turned to the Axew, "Do you?"

"Sure! I'll take it!" She happily accepted it, and Kroto got to work tying it on her.

"And… Done!" Kroto finished, "Looks good on you."

The bandana was tied around Palla's neck. It was a blue cloth that had an emblem on the front of it that had two wings sprouting from a crest in the center.

"Well guys, wanna find something to do?" Kroto asked, "Maybe something that doesn't involve Eternarifts?"

"There's a short mystery dungeon in the plains that we could go to." Traximus suggested.

Kroto stretched his lengthy body, "Nah… I've had enough of ferals for a bit. Why not just go to the plains and relax? Get some fresh air?"

"Good idea," Palla agreed, "Traximus? What about you?"

"Looks like I'm out-voted. Let's go to the plains then." The Bagon nodded.

~ Windlass Plains ~

The plains extended for what felt like infinity. Kroto, evidently, found himself enjoying the open air, striding in the grass and sprinting about. Traximus, meanwhile, kept a steady yet slow pace, taking in all the scenery. Finally, Palla found herself a nice spot to sit and just enjoy herself.

"Hey, Traximus!" Kroto called out, "Wanna race?!"

The Bagon shook his head, "No way! There's no chance I'll win!"

"Come on! Where's your sense of pride?" He laughed, turning around, "I bet… Woah! Guys check that out!"

"What," Palla yelled, "What is it?!"

"There's a blue thing with white accents in the distance! Let's check it out!"

The trio regrouped and approached the mysterious object. Only, when they got closer, they found that it wasn't exactly what it appeared to be. In fact, it looked more like…

"That's not an object! That's a pokemon!" Palla sprinted up to the unconscious pokemon, surprising both Traximus and Kroto.

"Are you okay," she asked, shaking the blue pokemon, "Say something! Anything!"

Kroto and Traximus approached cautiously. Kroto, being skeptical about the situation, balled up his left fist and called out, "Careful Palla, he or she might be dangerous."

One last shake was all it took for the unconscious pokemon to wake up. After a bout of wiggling, the pokemon eventually stood up, and blinked a few times.

"H-Hello? Gah! My head really…! Wait. What's happening here?"

"I don't know. We just found you here, unconscious," Palla explained.

"Wo-Woah! It's a pokemon! A real-life talking Axew!" The Froakie exclaimed.

The trio looked between themselves in confusion. Kroto then stepped up and asked, "You okay? You didn't hit your head or anything?"

"More of them! They can all talk!" The Froakie then stepped back just a slight bit.

"Hey, buddy. You don't appear to be the average Froakie," Kroto remarked, "Where are you from? Maybe that can help us out here."

"From San Francisco if you must know! And did you just call me a Froakie?"

The Passimian squinted his eyes and turned around to the group. "Any of you guys heard of that place?"

Traximus shrugged and Palla replied, "No. I've never heard of it." The trio then watched on as the Froakie examined himself. Top to bottom the Froakie tilted his head, taking in every active detail.

The Froakie then exclaimed, "Wait, I'm a pokemon!"

Traximus looked on dumbfounded, "Well, what else would you be?"

"A human!"

At that, everybody's hearts sank to the ground. Kroto instantly froze where he was standing, Palla nearly fell over, and Traximus blinked several times.

"A HUMAN!?" Traximus shouted, "There's no way that can be right!" He then ran up to the Froakie, placing both his nubs on his shoulders, "Tell me you're lying!"

Kroto began to tremble, "H-Hey! You can't joke like that!"

"What! I'm not joking!" The Froakie shouted, "What's wrong with being a… well… human?"

Traximus stammered, "I'll explain, if-"

"Somebody HELP!"

All of the pokemon craned their necks to see where the shout came from. It appeared to be a Sandshrew being hauled off by an Excadrill and two Drilbur. The larger pokemon gave a slashing motion towards the Sandshrew.

"Quiet Kid! You're going to find out what happens when you cross pokemon like us!" The Excadrill snarled.

At the top of the hill, the group looked onward. In front of them was a hole that bore itself in the dead center of the terrain, creating a contrast of elements between the rocky hole and the grassy plains. The gang of pokemon moved the Sandshrew over towards the hole and stopped at the rim of the hole. As the pokemon came to a stop, the Sandshrew locked eyes with Team Nova.

"You guys! Help me!" He shouted.

"More civilians?! Bah, forget it!" The Excadrill barked, "Let's jump in lads!"

At the Excadrill's direction, the posse jumped into the hole with a screaming Sandshrew in tow. Team Nova looked between themselves, looking for confirmation from each other. Kroto and Traximus gave a nod to each other and then looked back to Palla. "You good to go in, Palla?"

Palla looked internally, weighing her options. 'We're just one day out from being at the university, and now we have a new problem on our hands. But… It's not like last time! There's no Eternarift, so we should be fine, right?'

"I'll go! I won't lock up this time!" She mustered up.

"Don't forget about me!" The Froakie piped up, placing himself in between Kroto and Traximus. "And before you complain, I know when a person needs help! The situation might be strange, but I'll help any way I can!"

"...Right then! Let's go!" Traximus declared, racing into the cavern.

~ Loxton Tunnel, 1F ~

Falling into the tunnel, Team Nova came to a landing in the middle of a room with an audible thud. Traximus and Kroto stuck the landing, with the latter scrambling to catch both the Froakie and the Axew. Setting them both down, Kroto made one good look around and commented, "Looks like some sort of mystery dungeon. Careful guys."

"Mystery dungeon?" The Froakie pondered, "I think I've heard of it, but never experienced it before."

"All you need to know is that there's feral pokemon in these places. Fight them and make it to the staircase." Traximus explained.

"...Sounds simple enough." The Froakie agreed.

The group traversed into the southern hallway, with Traximus leading the pack. The Froakie saddled himself between Palla in front of him and Kroto in the back. He nervously fidgeted about with his fingers.

"So… what's your name? Never got it…" Kroto asked, catching up to the group.

"Name's Rico." The Froakie responded, "And you guys?"

"I'm Kroto, the Axew is Palla, and the Bagon is Traximus. We're kinda a ragtag team right now, but looking to become something greater."

"Hey, look. There's the stairs." Traximus called out, bringing the group's attention back to the dungeon. "We just have to get past… That." He pointed to the sleeping Rhydon adjacent to it.

"Aren't Froakie water types?" Palla asked, "If so, then maybe Rico could take care of it?"

"Eh. Worth a shot," Rico relented, "What do I gotta do?"

"Use a water type move. Any one will do."

"Okay, but how?"

Palla found herself about to say something, but couldn't muster the words. After a brief bit of silence, Kroto became impatient. "Okay, let me handle this then." He sighed, charging a drain punch. The Passimian tiptoed behind the Rhydon, catching it off guard when he launched a surprise attack on the back of the Rhydon's neck. Following a roar, Kroto hit another drain punch, knocking the creature flat on its back, unconscious.

"How did you do that?" Rico asked, looking on in awe.

Kroto gave the Froakie a glance, "It comes naturally to me. You'll get it when you start using your attacks more."

"Come on guys, the stairs are open." Traximus declared, "Follow me."

~ Loxton Tunnel, B1F ~

Descending the staircase, they found that the lighting was darker than usual. Team Nova, as a result, huddled together in the center, though something was on the Bagon's mind when entering this room. 'There's a suspicious amount of items scattered about here…'

"Hey, Kroto, what's this?" Rico asked, holding up a blue-labeled bottle.

"That's a carbos." The Passimian explained, "It's a natural stimulant for your body. You could down it now, if you want."

"Eww, why would I do that?"

Traximus worked to shove the ensuing conversation in the back of his mind, allowing his thoughts to take center stage. 'Weird. Who would leave a whole carbos down here? Ferals usually aren't smart enough to use these items on their own, are they?' The Bagon took a glance around the room, noticing that there happened to be an explorer's bag huddled near a rock on the eastern side. 'A bag? That means that somebody had to have been here before. But where's the pokemon? And where's the ferals?'

Traximus pondered the possibilities, when he looked up out of sheer coincidence. What he saw was numerous sets of glowing eyes leering down from above. His heart nearly lunged into his throat when he yelled, "Above us! It's-it's…"

"It's a monster house!"